Our Virtuous Republic: The Forgotten Clause in the American Social Contract

Conservative academics and politicians have failed to make a decisive argument for our founding principles, which were born out of the blended wisdom of English common law, Natural Law and the Protestant ethic. Richard D. Baris, Creator and Editor of People’s Pundit Daily, identifies the unique characteristics that define the traditional American identity; to which, the progressive narrative has attached an unsubstantiated, “backward” stigma.

Past conservative arguments have focused only on the impact of progressive reforms, such as the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments, but beneath this structural shift is a deeper problem of values. They have overshadowed the true danger posed to Americans from big government; its strong, innate ability to destroy the human connection, which is threatening to “fundamentally transform” American citizens into a people that the Constitution was never designed to govern.

Baris uses an all-encompassing approach, tapping history, philosophy, psychology, economics, and even science to deconstruct the progressive argument to its regressive core. Breaking through the superficial partisanship, he explains how our human nature interacts with the different elements of each political philosophy in American politics, and how it is exploited by politicians, special interest and bureaucrats. The evidence, in total, points to one conclusion.

There is a Natural Law that illuminates our path to human happiness, empowerment and well-being. American history tells a story about the natural power of close, intimate human relationships. Our Founding Fathers designed the American social contract in accordance with their belief in a Natural Law that – when observed – ensures that we all have the opportunity to achieve the highest state of being. Honoring the terms of that social contract is the true path to progress.